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A review by cakt1991
Betting on a Duke's Heart by Royaline Sing
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Betting on a Duke’s Heart intrigued me, as I was excited to see yet another book with an Indian heroine, although that excitement was also tempered with a healthy dose of apprehension, due to the uproar over a similar (delayed) title, also featuring an Indian woman and a duke. And while I can’t speak to the rep in this case, just as I couldn’t in the other, I found this book interesting and refreshing…with caveats.
I loved the prominent placement of Indian culture and mythology. As the romance proceeds, each chapter is headed with an epigraph relating a tale from the Mahabharata, “The Love Saga of Nala and Damayanti,” and over time, you can see how it parallels the romance between Dina and Aetius. And generally, I could feel like Royaline Sing was coming from a really authentic place and embedding her own cultural experience in the story, in addition to acknowledging the largely ignored (in historical romance novels, anyway) South Asian population in England by this time.
I really liked how Sing addressed the power dynamic, in terms of gender. As she noted in her author’s note, a marriage act amendment meant women were no longer the property of their husbands, allowing Dina more agency when she married Aetius. While him being a Duke still presents some unmentioned, but implied problems, given her background, I found that their romance was more balanced as a result, and fairly sweet and fairly easy to root for. Dina is strong willed, and Aetius respects that.
But at the same time, a few things bogged the story down. One was the large role horses played. Horse racing, breeding, the feeling of being on horseback. Some of that is understandable…Aetius is called “the Bareback Duke,” after all. I love when heroes actually have particular hobbies that aren’t drinking and whoring, especially if it serves as a bonding point for him with the heroine. But it got really repetitive, and even though it did help them bond, it also ended up distracting me more than anything else.
I also struggled with the character motivations at times, especially towards the end, when the Black Moment happened. Aside from echoing the myth, I had no idea what happened with them, and why.
This is a sweet romance, and even with these major caveats, I did enjoy it enough to keep an eye on what Royaline Sing writes next.
Betting on a Duke’s Heart intrigued me, as I was excited to see yet another book with an Indian heroine, although that excitement was also tempered with a healthy dose of apprehension, due to the uproar over a similar (delayed) title, also featuring an Indian woman and a duke. And while I can’t speak to the rep in this case, just as I couldn’t in the other, I found this book interesting and refreshing…with caveats.
I loved the prominent placement of Indian culture and mythology. As the romance proceeds, each chapter is headed with an epigraph relating a tale from the Mahabharata, “The Love Saga of Nala and Damayanti,” and over time, you can see how it parallels the romance between Dina and Aetius. And generally, I could feel like Royaline Sing was coming from a really authentic place and embedding her own cultural experience in the story, in addition to acknowledging the largely ignored (in historical romance novels, anyway) South Asian population in England by this time.
I really liked how Sing addressed the power dynamic, in terms of gender. As she noted in her author’s note, a marriage act amendment meant women were no longer the property of their husbands, allowing Dina more agency when she married Aetius. While him being a Duke still presents some unmentioned, but implied problems, given her background, I found that their romance was more balanced as a result, and fairly sweet and fairly easy to root for. Dina is strong willed, and Aetius respects that.
But at the same time, a few things bogged the story down. One was the large role horses played. Horse racing, breeding, the feeling of being on horseback. Some of that is understandable…Aetius is called “the Bareback Duke,” after all. I love when heroes actually have particular hobbies that aren’t drinking and whoring, especially if it serves as a bonding point for him with the heroine. But it got really repetitive, and even though it did help them bond, it also ended up distracting me more than anything else.
I also struggled with the character motivations at times, especially towards the end, when the Black Moment happened. Aside from echoing the myth, I had no idea what happened with them, and why.
This is a sweet romance, and even with these major caveats, I did enjoy it enough to keep an eye on what Royaline Sing writes next.